UCLA prepares for future earthquakes
By Claire Makepeace
May 27, 2009 12:18 a.m.
UCLA students and staff are taking steps to increase disaster preparedness before the next major earthquake in light of the two earthquakes that hit Los Angeles on May 17 and 19.
Although seismologists are not able to predict when the next big earthquake will hit, they are sure that it will affect UCLA, said David Jackson, a professor of geophysics.
“There will be an earthquake that will cause damage on the UCLA campus at some time,” Jackson said. “The fact that these recent earthquakes have occurred near the San Andreas Fault is cause for concern, as this means that they could stimulate an earthquake on the fault.”
In preparation for a major earthquake, members of the Student Affairs Division are working on a plan to convert the water from the swimming pools at Sunset Recreation Center into drinking water.
A practice earthquake drill was also held on May 21 for staff who work in the student affairs buildings on campus, including the Student Activities Center, the Dashew Center and Murphy Hall.
A disaster kit containing large amounts of food, first aid materials and blankets was organized by the American Red Cross at UCLA and is currently located in Westwood, said Mike Stajura, a member of the organization.
Stajura said the Red Cross at UCLA received an award on May 19 from the Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles for having the best organizational disaster preparedness kit, after sending in a photograph of the kit for a contest in April.
“The recent earthquakes have brought the topic of earthquakes to the forefront of people’s attention,” Stajura said.
Two earthquakes of magnitudes 4.7 and 4 hit Los Angeles on Sunday, May 17 and Tuesday, May 19, respectively.
While no damage was done, many students at UCLA reported feeling tremors.
These occurrences brought forward the question of when the next big earthquake will hit.
“The fact that we have had these earthquakes means that we are currently in a more active phase,” said David Burns, emergency manager at UCLA.
“Every decade in California’s history, there has been a fatal earthquake,” he added. “We have not had any fatal earthquakes since the Northridge earthquake in 1994. We are long overdue.”
Stajura said students should make individual preparations for an earthquake by having emergency supplies available.
“Everyone should have an earthquake kit with supplies of food and water to last at least three days,” he said.
The university has already taken steps to ensure it is prepared for the next major earthquake, Burns said.
“All campus departments are required to have an emergency plan and to ensure that staff are properly trained,” he added.
However, Stajura said he is unsure about the university’s readiness to cope with an earthquake above a 5.0 magnitude.
“The problem is that the earthquake provisions that UCLA has in place assume that everybody will self-evacuate,” he said.
When the 1994 Northridge earthquake hit, people were able to leave UCLA to go home or to other locations, Stajura said.
“But when the big one hits, nobody will be able to go home. They will be stuck at UCLA, and I’m not sure there are provisions for that,” he said.
